The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) called on the government on Friday to reply to the European Commission and align Croatia's legislation on the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) with the European acquis, given that the deadline to reply to the Commission on this matter expires today.
"It's irresponsible and harmful that we don't have or know the government's position today and we don't know if a reply will be sent to the European Commission at all," the strongest opposition party's vice president, Drazen Bosnjakovic, told reporters.
The HDZ's member of the European Parliament, Davor Ivo Stier, said the government had caused a lot of damage to Croatia because of the legislation on the EAW and that Croatia was losing credibility and trust.
He said the EAW law, dubbed Lex Perkovic, "is a disgraceful anti-Croatian and anti-European law," and that the government must decide today - either Perkovic or Europe. He was referring to former Yugoslav intelligence agent Josip Perkovic, a Croatian national wanted in Germany on charges of having masterminded the political killing of a Croatian dissident in Bavaria in 1983.
Stier said that regardless of stories about expired statute of limitations, Perkovic would have been arrested on July 1, when Croatia joined the European Union, had the government not passed the EAW law.
